Plainsboro Library to Show Art Inspired by Pandemic

An exhibit of work by Chanika Svetvilas, who describes herself as “an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary artist,” will open at the Plainsboro Public Library gallery on Wednesday, December 1. Svetvilas is scheduled to give an artist’s talk on Saturday, December 4, at the opening reception, 1-3 pm.

The show will run through January 26 and will feature multiple charcoal drawings–and some collage–created during the pandemic.  Each piece has its own title. Collectively, the series is entitled “What I Have Learned (Fill in the Blank).”

The Princeton Junction artist says that work in the show represents her response to the ongoing isolation of the pandemic, especially in its earlier days. She has tried to illustrate “satirically the disparities and inequities brought to light” during the nation’s experience of  Covid-19.  The exhibit includes the artist’s representations of the Black Lives Matter movement, a response to George Floyd’s murder, pandemic charts, images of masking, and depictions of her own experience.

The artist explains that she “uses narrative as a way to share experiences to disrupt stereotypes and to reflect on contemporary issues and cultural identity.” She says she has little interest in traditional art and “is not looking to reach the art community.” Instead, she seeks “interaction with the general public” and hopes her work will encourage her viewers to reflect on their own experiences.

Svetvilas does not favor any one medium. She calls herself a“conceptual artist” and says the concept she wants to illustrate determines the medium she will use. She has presented her installations at the annual College Art Association conference, CUNY Hunter College, and Stony Brook University. She has exhibited at the Denver International Airport, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Brooklyn Public Library, Westbeth Gallery, the Islip Art Museum, Princeton University, and the Center for Collaborative History, among others.

More information is available on her website: chanikasvetvilas.com